Requiem
by LullabyAria
Summary: It is nearing the end of the Fourth Age and Sauron is little more than a memory. What has become of the elven city called Imladris? Is it really a myth as many think? Or do the abandoned halls exist, laden with memories, lamenting the loss of the Eldar?


_Disclaimer: I don't own, I'm just borrowing._

_A/N: The reason I use the expression "gods-knew-what" is because it is said that during the Fourth Age, Sauron became a distant memory and strange cults and societies grew up in Gondor. While Tirion and Tuliel's village is not anywhere near Gondor, I figured that strange cults must have been growing elsewhere too._

"Tirion?" Her soft voice trembled. "I don't like it here."

He scoffed, a sound of disgust that served to disguise his own fear. What he couldn't hide was the shaking of his sweaty hands. He swallowed hard and wiped his palms on his dirt-streaked pants.

"Don't be thick Tuli. If you're afraid go back home." The abrasive tone was ruined by the quavering of his voice.

"But…but Tirion! I can't go back through the woods myself! What if-"

"Oh please! Tell me you don't believe those ridiculous ghost stories!"

"I…no, but-"

"But what?" Tirion asked in exasperation.

"What about the wolves? And what if I get lost? What if-"

Tirion rolled his eyes. "What if the wolves get me Tirion! What if I get lost Tirion! Oh, I'm so scared Tirion! Stop whining! If you're not going back then you're gonna have to stay with me!"

Tuli opened her mouth to argue but Tirion interrupted her. "AND if you're staying with me, you have to be quiet!"

Tuli looked at her brother miserably, her emerald green eyes swimming with unshed tears. As Tirion was watching, a few drops fell and rolled down her cheeks. The sight seemed to considerably soften Tirion's resolve, and he heaved a reluctant sigh and reached out to grab his little sister's hand.

He began pulling her along through the shrubs and thick foliage, trying his best to push aside the branches and thorns that were blocking his passage.

After hearing the blacksmith's story, Tirion's curiosity had gotten the better of him, and while everyone was distracted by their chores, he snuck away.

The story told of an ancient elven city, built by a half-elven lord as a haven for all manner of people. It was said that the city was called Rivendell, Imladris in the elven tongue, and anyone who needed it would be granted aid. According to the blacksmith, the city was located just west of them, beyond the Brunion River and in a hidden valley. No one had seen it for thousands of years, no one even knew if it was still standing. Many people in the village doubted it had even existed.

Tirion had been walking for fifteen minutes when he had heard a noise behind him. When he turned around, he saw that it was his little sister, Tuliel, who had followed him.

And now, they were walking through the thick, shadowy woods (which were infested with gods-knew-what) to find the lost elven city which may or may not have existed. Upon reflection, Tirion realized that this trip wasn't the smartest idea of his.

The forest they were traveling through seemed to grow more forbidding with every step they took. It seemed as if the forest was working against them, although Tirion dismissed the thought with a shake of his head. Forests couldn't think. What a ridiculous notion.

After what seemed like an eternity, Tirion heard the faint sound of rushing water.

"Come on Tuli! We're close!" Tirion whooped and dropped his sister's hand.

Tuli struggled to keep up with her brother's quickening pace. She was so busy looking at the ground where she was stepping that she bumped into her brother, who had stopped dead in his tracks. Rubbing her nose, Tuliel looked up at her brother crossly. However, as she was about to complain about her hurt nose, she found herself staring at a granite bridge, crumbling with age, but still sturdy enough to hold their weight.

Staring beyond it, Tuli's mouth fell open and a small sound of disbelief escaped her.

Marvelously built structures of a combination of light and dark stone towered above them. Spires that seemed to pierce the sky, pathways and open air hallways teeming with overgrown wildlife. The architecture seemed the epitome of strength while still giving the impression of delicacy…as if it could vanish in an instant.

To the children, it seemed as if the houses went on forever. They were impossibly large and daunting, as if giants had built them.

Tuli closed her mouth, only to see her brother disappear across the other side of the bridge.

"Tirion! Wait for me!" She called, running across the narrow bridge, blissfully unaware of how close she came to the edge.

She slowed to a stop when she reached the other side, unable to see her brother anywhere. To her left stood a well, mossy with age. She passed by it, in favor of finding her brother.

"Tirion? Where are you?" She cried, wandering down a broken stone pathway that led to a worn staircase. The stone below her feet was rough with tiny indents. If she looked close enough, Tuli could see intricate carvings of men, beasts, kings, and their queens. Fascinated by the artwork, Tuliel took a moment to admire it before going on.

Climbing the stairs, Tuli found herself inside one of the roofed outdoor hallways. To her right, the very lifelike statue of a woman stood imposingly. She was holding a flute to her smiling lips, but somehow her sightless eyes seemed less than friendly.

_Are you frightened?_

Tuli gasped and whirled around. No one was there. Frantically, she looked for the person who had said that.

_We are your past, mortal. Before the dawn we came with the stars. It was we who taught your kind, we who gave you your heritage._

"Who…who are you?" Tuli whispered to the statue, for she was sure that was where the voice came from.

_More importantly, who are you? _

"I don't understand…what do you mean?"

_We sailed from this marred world because it was our fate. We were called away, back to our origins. We left you mortals behind, for this world was always yours. _

"What?"

_We are only a distant memory to your kind. Nothing is left of our legacy except the stories you call fairy tales. Will that be your fate as well? Will you disappear from memory as we did? Or will your kind mend the wounds of this earth?_

Tuliel didn't know how to reply, so she silently began backing away.

_Perhaps…perhaps there is no evil but the freedom to choose. After all, that was our downfall as well._

She felt the cold wall press against her back. She couldn't move away any further.

_We have paid for our mistakes, and they have been mended. Can your kind do the same? Will you be your people's strength, or will you blindly follow, even when it is foolish?_

No where left to run.

_Your kind have grown strong without us. Together, you are unconquerable. You can chose to heal, or you can chose to destroy. But there is only one thing we must know…_

How could she run away now?

_Were we right to have helped your rise to power? Were we right to have trusted you mortals, even with your weaknesses?_

Tuli heard the challenge in the voice and responded, "Yes!"

_Then prove it._

Intimidated by the meaning of those words, Tuli ran down the rest of the hallway, descending down into a garden long overgrown with weeds and vines. She didn't dare go any farther inside the strange house with its strange carvings and statues.

Momentarily forgetting the strange experience as children are wont, Tuli pressed onward.

"Tirion this isn't funny!" She shouted. She was beginning to get cross at her brother. Child though she was, the silence of the place unnerved her. It was almost like there was a presence that lingered there; a sad presence. She shivered at the thought.

Indeed, a presence did linger there. It was as if the souls of those who used to live there were still wandering its ancient halls. Echoes of a more dangerous time resonated through the air, filling it with memories of shared joys, and shared sorrows that were thousands of years old but still held their potency. The ethereal aura that surrounded the place would have brought a grown man to his knees, so powerful were the emotions it provoked.

Being a child, Tuliel was not overwhelmed with the deep yearning of times long past, for she had never experienced the ache, the longing that accompanied bittersweet recollections. Her childish mind was firmly fixed in the present, and currently it was imbued with awe and tinged with fear.

"Tirion!" She called again. "Tirion!" "Hush! Honestly, there's no need to shout Tuli."

Tirion stood on a raised dais that overlooked the garden she was standing in. He had his hands firmly planted on his hips as if he were king of this forgotten place. King of the lost city, the empty city. At that moment, Tuli thought that he did look very noble and strong like a king.

"Well? What do you think? Isn't it amazing?" Tirion asked in a thrilled tone. His pride in finding this place was obviously immense.

Tuli took a moment to answer. "I think it's beautiful…but it's scary."

Tirion snorted.

Ignoring his reaction, Tuli cast a frightened look towards the house. "Can't you feel it Tirion? It reminds me of when mommy was going to have a baby and then god took it back. It feels sad."

The city was mourning. All forgotten cities mourned. They mourned more deeply and more passionately than mortals, though they were made of stone.

The irony of Rivendell's requiem escaped many.

"We shouldn't be here." Tuli finished, stubbornly braving her brother's scorn.

Little did she know that Tirion felt the same exact way, having been affected the same by the force that emanated from the ancient elven city. The same feeling that had compelled him to come here was now making him wish he had never come. While he may not have known exactly what it was, he understood that it was something he would never be able to fathom.

Tirion jumped off the dais and took his sister's hand.

"Let's go home then." He said.

On their way back to the bridge, they passed the well again. Tuliel momentarily let go of her brother's hand to sneak a look into its still waters. All she saw was her reflection staring back at her. Then, for a quick moment, she thought she saw a dark haired woman with gentle, loving eyes staring back at her. But when she blinked, the image vanished and all she could see was herself.

As they crossed the bridge, Tuli thought she could hear a voice on the wind.

_Prove it. _It said to her. _Prove it._


End file.
